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Before he presented his Fall 2018 collection during New York Fashion Week in February, designer Dennis Basso revealed that his inspiration for the season was "today's woman." Basso does design primarily for women and it is, indeed, today, so this seems to make sense. Elsewhere, Jonathan Simkhai noted he was inspired by the slightly more abstract concept of "inner fortitude" (#same), while Chromat referenced the aesthetic of a kayaking trip and Raf Simons explored drugs and addiction, as well as their consequences. When Noon by Noor designers Noor Rashid Al Khalifa and Haya Mohammed Al Khalifa were asked to name their influence for the season, the duo responded, simply: "captivating."

For those who pay attention to such things, the ritual of fashion designers announcing their seasonal inspiration — regularly collected in slideshows on sites like WWD and The Cut, outlined in show notes and assessed in runway reviews — can be entertaining, often pairing well with a snarky aside about the lofty ambitions of creative types. But, when designers are most successful in contextualizing their frames of mind by sharing what motivates them creatively, it can help us understand the ways in which fashion reflects what's happening around us in a broader way, giving what we wear an elevated sense of importance and lending a bit more relevance to the Fashion Week rigamarole, if not the entire industry.

And yet, as the business of fashion continues to evolve, the importance of having a distinct seasonal inspiration may be sliding further down the list of priorities for today's savviest designers.

The fear of being seen wearing the same outfit twice on social media is costing some Australian women $206 per selfie.Online pre-loved fashion marketplace Carousell commissioned a survey of 1000 Australian women that found 30 per cent of respondents believed posting the same outfit twice on social media was an unthinkable fashion faux pas.With a fifth of respondents posting at least 53 selfies a year, it’s no wonder these fashion-forward women are spending an average of $10,920 on new clothes annually.Perth blogger and content creator Monique Ceccato sympathises with women who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same selfie outfit twice.Indeed, she feels the same pressure to create new content for her Instagram account, Little Miss Mon Bon.“I put the pressure on myself to be at the same level as other influencers and to offer something new for my followers,” she said.However, she believed social media had only amplified the pressures women have always felt around their fashion choices.A perfect real-world example came recently when Daily Mail Australia published a “story” about Today show host Lisa Wilkinson wearing the same floral blouse “just four months apart”.“This is not the first time Lisa has worn the same outfit twice,” the Daily Mail declared triumphantly.

Of course, Wilkinson’s co-host Karl Stefanovic famously sought to expose fashion-related sexism in 2014 by wearing the same blue suit every day on the show for a year.Wilkinson had the last laugh, wearing the floral blouse again on the day after the story was published.Perth style bloggers Holly Mitchell and Louisa Miller, who are collectively known as The Boyfriend Shirt, would approve of Wilkinson’s response.The pair got into fashion blogging as an escape from law school exams and believe you shouldn’t take your look or yourself too seriously.Consequently, they can be spotted on Instagram wearing the same pieces twice, albeit styled in new ways.